Baldwin, Louisiana
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Baldwin, Louisiana
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| settlement_type = Town
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| image_caption = Sprawling live oak tree in Baldwin, Louisiana
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| image_map = File:St. Mary Parish Louisiana Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Baldwin Highlighted.svg
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| map_caption = Location of Baldwin in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
| image_map1 = Louisiana in United States (US48).svg
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| map_caption1 = Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| coordinates = {{coord|29|50|10|N|91|32|56|W|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = Louisiana
| subdivision_type2 = Parish
| subdivision_name2 = St. Mary
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| established_title = Founded
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| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Clarence A. Vappie{{cite web|title=Baldwin Municipal Employees' Retirement System|url=https://www.mersla.com/employers/page/baldwin|accessdate= May 3, 2023}}
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| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_total_km2 = 8.36
| area_total_sq_mi = 3.23
| area_land_km2 = 8.33
| area_land_sq_mi = 3.22
| area_water_km2 = 0.02
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.01
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| elevation_ft = 16
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| population_as_of = 2020
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| population_total = 1762
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| population_density_km2 = 211.47
| population_density_sq_mi = 547.72
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| timezone1 = CST
| utc_offset1 = -6
| timezone1_DST = CDT
| utc_offset1_DST = -5
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| area_code = 337
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| blank_info = 22-04020
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| blank2_name_sec2 = Wikimedia Commons
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Baldwin is a town in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,436 at the 2010 census,{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US2204020| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212182913/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US2204020| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Baldwin town, Louisiana| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=March 29, 2013}} down from 2,497 in 2000. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area. Its population is majority African American. The town has been home to educational institutions for white and "colored" students.
History
The community was named for John Baldwin, the Ohio educator who founded what would later become Baldwin-Wallace University. In 1867, Baldwin purchased the Darby plantation in Louisiana, a plantation of about {{convert|1700|acre|km2}}. His residence there, Darby House, remained in his family until 1937 and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.{{cite web | url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/82004678 | title=NPGallery Asset Detail }}
Gilbert Academy and Industrial School was in Baldwin.{{cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qn5OAAAAMAAJ&q=baldwin+academy+.louisiana | title=Negro education: A study of the private and higher schools for colored people in the United States | date=1917 }} It became Godman Industrial School and 14 years after closing in 1978 became the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Sager Brown campus.{{Cite web |title=Short History of UMCOR Sager Brown |url=https://www.ctcumc.org/files/fileshare/center+for+mission+support/short+history+of+umcor+sager+brown.pdf |access-date=November 19, 2024 |website=www.ctcumc.org}} The Louisiana physician and politician Alvan Lafargue practiced in Baldwin, his wife's hometown, prior to 1915.
The Tillandsia residence, built by John Baldwin Sr., is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (National Register of Historic Places listings in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana).{{Cite web |title=NRHP |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/82004679_text |website=npgallery.nps.gov}} Cypremort Point State Park is located 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Baldwin.
Geography
Baldwin is located at {{Coord|29|50|10|N|91|32|56|W|type:city}} (29.836039, -91.548799).{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}
Louisiana Highway 182, which passes throughout the entire town, travels 9 miles (14 km) northwest to Jeanerette and 5 miles (8 km) southeast to Franklin, the St. Mary Parish seat. Louisiana Highway 83, which intersects with LA-182, travels southwest from Baldwin to the unincorporated communities of Louisa, Glencoe, and Four Corners and heads back northwest to intersect with Louisiana Highway 14 in New Iberia.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of {{convert|8.3|km2|disp=flip}}, all land.
Demographics
{{US Census population
|1920= 964
|1930= 822
|1940= 984
|1950= 1138
|1960= 1548
|1970= 2117
|1980= 2644
|1990= 2379
|2000= 2497
|2010= 2436
|2020= 1762
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015 }}
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| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right"
|+Baldwin racial composition as of 2020{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US2204020&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 29, 2021|website=data.census.gov}} !scope="col"| Race !scope="col"| Number !scope="col"| Percentage |
| scope="row"| White (non-Hispanic)
| 513 | 29.11% |
|---|
| scope="row"| Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
| 1,105 | 62.71% |
| scope="row"| Native American
| 21 | 1.19% |
| scope="row"| Asian
| 9 | 0.51% |
| scope="row"| Pacific Islander
| 1 | 0.06% |
| scope="row"| Other/Mixed
| 77 | 4.37% |
| scope="row"| Hispanic or Latino
| 36 | 2.04% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,762 people, 804 households, and 447 families residing in the town.
Education
St. Mary Parish School Board operates public schools.
West St. Mary High School is near Baldwin.
Residents
Prophet Royal Robertson
References
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{{St. Mary Parish, Louisiana}}
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